


Enchant Me

by Aziexxx



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Angst, BAMF Merlin, Dark Merlin, F/M, M/M, Post Finale, alternative ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-30
Updated: 2016-03-30
Packaged: 2018-05-30 04:53:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6409561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aziexxx/pseuds/Aziexxx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the end, Morgana's army hadn't stood a chance. None of them had.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Enchant Me

**Author's Note:**

> Was in a Merlin-finale writing mood :)
> 
> Concrit always welcome!  
> \- Azie x

He almost didn't make it in time. A _minute_ later and Mordred's sword would have pierced Arthur's heart. The thought made Merlin's chest tighten with anxiety and his hands clench into fists. There was no more room for mercy now. 

Shock and fear warred for dominance on Mordred's face, his already ashen skin growing ever paler. He stumbled slightly, moving backwards seemingly unconsciously before he managed to gather his bearings. Merlin's initial blow had all but knocked him off his feet. Merlin tried not to ponder what Arthur might be thinking, seeing 'Dragoon' once more on this field of death; he focused instead on the traitor before him. 

"This is pointless, Emrys," Mordred called, voice quivering despite his bravado. "There are too many of us. There is no way for you to win - not unless you join us." 

The thought was so laughable that Merlin couldn't help but chuckle, the sound so dark and malicious it sounded foreign to Merlin's ears. Clouds began to form overhead, darkening the sky to almost pitch black; the only luminescence coming from the gold of Merlin's eyes. 

"Actually, I think I _can_ ," Merlin replied, stalking forward with intent. He let the glamour of Dragoon fade away with each step, ignoring Arthur's small gasp of shock from behind him. "Do you know why, Mordred?" 

The boy - and truly, Mordred was no more than a boy, just as Merlin had been all those years ago when first he came to Camelot - shook visibly with fear. His sword, once held aloft with such viscous intent, hung limp at his side. 

"Because I am _magic itself_. I am the Earth and the sky and the moon. I run through every river, every stream and through the very air you breathe. I am within you and every other sorcerer on Earth. And you just tried to take something precious away from me, Mordred. A piece of my very _soul_. Do you know what I'm going to do to you?" 

The sword dropped to the ground with a dull thud, Mordred falling seconds later. He kneeled in front of Merlin, as though to worship at his feet, cheeks wet with tears. And still Merlin's eyes blazed golden, the anger and frustration from the last few months - years, even - at their peak. 

Mordred was begging now, pleading for mercy in ragged whispers, overcome by the heady thrum of Merlin's magic in the air. But Merlin could not be merciful now - not if he wanted Camelot to survive, for Arthur to survive. A bolt of lightening crashed down from the sky, striking Mordred with such force that the ground itself shook from the reverberations. 

Once the smoke cleared, all that remained was a patch of burnt grass, putrid fumes wafting into the air around it. Merlin felt a visceral satisfaction at the sight, his triumph momentarily wiping away any regret over the necessary death. 

The world seemed to stand still for that moment. Merlin could hear nothing but the heavy breaths coming from behind him and a distant roaring in his ears from exerting all that power. And still he knew he had more, an infinite supply of magic at his disposal. They would not be defeated today. 

Taking a deep breath to calm his building nerves - and how ironic that despite all of his power, it was a mortal man that Merlin feared? - Merlin turned to face Arthur. 

His King stood tall before him, the light breeze causing his hair to sway softly in front of his eyes. He was so beautiful, always so beautiful, that Merlin couldn't help but stare. But he never let his eyes turn back to blue, or released his hold on the sky above them. It was now or never - his chance to be truthful after so many years of half-truths and lies. 

Arthur's eyes were glassy, a little teary perhaps, but his face was blank. Like that of a man facing the noose, knowing his next few breaths would be his last. Merlin hated the sight. 

"You're a sorcerer," he says, voice all but devoid of emotion. Merlin turned his head up to the sky, calling forth the rain and more lightening without needing to say the words aloud. 

"Yes. Since birth," Merlin's voice rang out clearly in reply, bracketed by the screams of their enemies dying all around them. 

When Merlin finally looked back at Arthur, his king's calm had faded. Now there was only anger. Merlin watched as Arthur's grip on Excalibur tightened, his stance widening as though ready to attack. 

"I would never hurt you, Arthur," Merlin whispered hoarsely, tears budding in his own eyes. "You must know that. Everything that I am - all that I do... It's all been for you, Arthur. Since the day we met. Be it destiny or- or _love_ -" 

Arthur suddenly sprung forward, his sword at Merlin's neck. So close that it pierced his skin, a trickle of blood seeping down the blade. 

"Don't you dare use that word. Not now," spits Arthur, his other hand clenching Merlin's robes in a tight fist. "Everything you are is a lie. All this time... All these years you have betrayed me. But no more. My father was right - we cannot bear for your kind to live. All you do is leave death and chaos in your wake." 

Merlin knew it the moment the last enemy soldier had fallen to his death. Morgana had escaped - he could feel her slipping further away with every second - but at least this battle was won. His magic slowly seeped out of his eyes, leaving just the blue behind. The same blue that always reflected perfectly back at him in Arthur's eyes. 

"You must know how much I've wanted to tell you Arthur," Merlin says softly, a single tear toppling over the rest to drip down onto Arthur's hand. "And you must know why I could not. I would never have put you in that position. And never, not once, have I betrayed you. Please, believe me, Arthur. You- you could kill me now and I could not stop you. I _wouldn't_." 

Arthur's hand began to shake, the blade digging insistently into Merlin's flesh. Arthur's own tears had striped his cheeks with lines of moisture, his mouth quivering minutely. 

What felt like an age passed between them, lungs breathing and hearts beating in sync. Merlin's mind had grown numb from sorrow and confounded hope. 

Arthur's sword dropped to the ground beside them with a small murmur of noise, the blade shiny from the rain. Both of Arthur's hands reached up to cup Merlin's face, bloody from fighting and rough from the hilt of his sword. And yet still they felt like redemption on Merlin's skin. 

"I wish that I could hate you. I wish that I could kill you," Arthur sighs, resting his forhead against Merlin's. "There must be something wrong with me. Since the moment I met you, something crawled its way under my skin and never let go. Have you enchanted me, Merlin?" 

Merlin lifts his head away to stare into Arthur's eyes, his own hands reaching up tentatively to stroke away the wet hair clinging to his king's face. 

"Never, Arthur." 

Arthur snorts disbelievingly in response, the cheers of his men reaching them now from somewhere nearby. The sky had begun the clear up, black clouds gone as suddenly as they had appeared. 

"Yes, yes I think you have," says Arthur, before his chapped lips gently covered Merlin's own. At first feather-light and then bitingly hard, these lips that had both yelled at him and called him friend now claimed Merlin's own with a passion that he had never seen in Arthur before - not even for Gwen. It was perfect and sweet, a kiss so brutally possessive and long-awaited that Merlin's knees grew weak. He had not expected this - had not dared to ever dream for it, after Arthur had married. 

When finally his King pulled away, Merlin finally dropped to his knees - so similar and yet so different to Mordred's actions mere moments before. 

Merlin looked up at his King, the sunlight a halo around the crown of Arthur's head, and smiled. He smiled like he hadn't in so long that his cheeks felt raw from the movement, stretched too thin. But he feels this happiness down into the very marrow of his bones. 

"Then you have enchanted me too." 

 


End file.
